Suffering for the Sake of the Gospel

TANZANIA – Pastors Johnson Odoyo and Amos Komanya arrived home from planting a new church in Mang’ola district and sent us the following, “We thank God for taking care of our families during our trip. Thank you too for your prayers. We have arrived home safely and found everyone fine.”

This seems like a very normal event; hardly newsworthy, yet at least one of us does a joyful song and dance each time this takes place. And for good reason!

Several times their vehicle has broken down. Other times the motorcycles they were taking into the bush were upended along the journey. Amos once required a trip to the hospital with bruised ribs and wounds on his legs, injuries that took a long time to heal. One time they were in a head-on collision with another vehicle that lost its brakes, hurling Johnson into the front seat – another trip to the hospital was needed, requiring an overnight stay. Among the injuries incurred was permanent facial scarring.

Once when their bus broke down the police came. Instead of helping they arrested everyone, taking them to the station. Personal belongings were confiscated and not returned. Whatever the police did not want was thrown off the bus and gathered up by opportunistic looters.

Each time these two men journey into the bush on this mission, they return with illnesses, injuries or both. Sometimes they have returned to find their families had been under attack by thieves. Worse yet, witchdoctors would cast spells upon them, bringing illnesses to the children.

They have slept on the ground, eaten unsanitary food, and made the two-day journey home in tightly cramped quarters with parasites in their systems. All of this caused me to wonder what had made the outcome of this trip to be so different. Were these two pastors truly in healthy form as well as their families, or was Johnson just trying to sound positive in the face of familiar challenges? I made a phone call to Tanzania, needing to dig deeper, and discovered:

• Both pastors were indeed ill. After a week of a doctor’s attention, they are nearly back to normal.
• Three of Johnson’s children were ill and had been admitted into the hospital. The reasons for the illnesses are undetermined, but antibiotics have been prescribed, and they are headed home.
• Some children of Amos’s  were also ill and admitted into the hospital for undetermined reasons. They have been recently released.

Little wonder that at the end of each mission trip Johnson writes, “We are starting our journey home. We need your prayers.”

The good news? Pastors Johnson Odoyo and Amos Komanya, along with their families, reportedly are in healthy condition. They are planning another trip to the new church in Mang’ola next month. YAY, LORD!!! (Dancing now.)